Good article in today’s NY Times by Claudia Deutsch: “Trying to Connect the Dinner Plate to Climate Change”

Includes very prominently one of PETA‘s new ads:

The article talks about the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report “stating that the livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined” as adding scientific legitimacy to the links between reduced animal consumption and environmentalism.

Also includes an ad from the HSUS:

Paul Shapiro, the “senior dirctor to the factory farming campain” for the HSUS, is quoted as saying that “switching to a plan based diet does more to curb global warming than switching from an S.U.V. to a Camry,” as demonstrated by the recent study out of the University of Chicago (this one, I assume).

Finally, the article also mentions Vegan Outreach (take a look at their “Truly Inconvenient Truth” page, and by all means, if you’re considering adapting your diet, order a free starter kit!).

The only real downside of the article is that it tries to ferment a kind of “green vs. vegan” animosity. True, as the the article says:

Environmental groups, meanwhile, readily concede that mobilizing against meat eaters is not their highest priority.

But that doesn’t mean that Vegans and Greens can’t collaborate where their interests overlap – I’d rather see us all focus on that than argue about whose concerns are more important.